


Forest for the Trees

by 1lostone, Bennyhatter, JeromeSankara, KatyTheInspiredWorkaholic, lotr58, MaroonCamaro, TWDObsessive



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Angry Tree, Angst, Confessions, First Kiss, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Round Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 09:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19195759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1lostone/pseuds/1lostone, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bennyhatter/pseuds/Bennyhatter, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeromeSankara/pseuds/JeromeSankara, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatyTheInspiredWorkaholic/pseuds/KatyTheInspiredWorkaholic, https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotr58/pseuds/lotr58, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaroonCamaro/pseuds/MaroonCamaro, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TWDObsessive/pseuds/TWDObsessive
Summary: Rick and Daryl sitting in a tree...





	Forest for the Trees

**Author's Note:**

> A Rickyl round robin for you. There may have been wine involved.
> 
>  
> 
> UPDATE: AO3 is being weird and dropping the co-creators. They are Lotr58, 1Lostone, TWDObsessive, katytheinspiredworkaholic, bennyhatter, and Jeromesankara

Daryl burst out of the front gates on foot, bound and determined to get as far away from the crowded prison as he could. 

The storm of thoughts twisted around and around, repeating those words to no end.

_ “I’d never have associated with someone like him before all this.” _

It's the same words, just twisted -- a cruel echo of the past he swore he'd escaped the day the dead overran the living.

_ I would never associate with someone like  _ **_him._ **

Would he never be able to escape his past?  The fact that he was a “Dixon” and that he supposedly embodied everything that went along with that sordid word.

If they were going to treat him like he was no better than the dirt under their shoes then fine. He'd go back to where the world made sense and forget the mess left within the prison gates. Lose himself between the trees for a while.

He was better being alone anyway.  He’d always preferred the sounds of crickets and song birds to the constant buzz of bitching people.

The forest was his home, his birthland, the only comfort he found in his pathetic existence, the only place he could truly be free. The only place he could truly be  _ Daryl. _

If it weren’t for Rick and the rest of the family, he’d have already been gone. Too many damn people just standing around waiting for someone to take care of them.

It's not his fucking job to help someone else limp along -- not after all they've done. They're not  _ family. _ They're not his responsibility, no matter how much they believe otherwise. Growling under his breath, he picked his way through the trees, as silent as a shadow as he flitted through patches of dappled shade.

No! They could just take care of themselves. He didn’t care anymore. From this moment all he was only going to be concerned with one person--himself. They didn’t want to associate with someone like him?  Well, they could just go to Hell and figure out how to do things for themselves.

"Daryl!" 

He stopped in his tracks at the sound of Rick’s voice. It did something to him. It always had, ever since the days at the quarry. It was commanding but gentle, firm but reassuring.

But that wasn't what Daryl wanted. He wanted to be  _ alone. _ The churning anger fueled him as he launched his way up a nearby tree, clawing up the branches one by one, with his only thought to reach the skies.

He could see Rick, hand on his gun, determined gait bringing him from the fence to where Daryl was so focused on hiding away from the world. He didn’t want Rick to see him like this.  _ Weak _ .

"Daryl," Rick called, stormy blue eyes searching the branches. He knew how to hide, how to disappear for hours until the screaming insecurities quiet themselves, but he'd never been able to hide from Rick.

Honestly, it's been a long time since he's tried.

Moving slowly, he edged backwards until he could feel the firmness of the bark against his back. Ducking his head, he tried to hide behind the branches, reaching out to pull several of them in front of him.  All he wanted at that moment was to blend in entirely. To become small and invisible so no one could see him. So no one would know where he was.

"Daryl," came Rick's voice from the base of the tree. "I know you're up there." Through the branches he could see Rick with his hands resting on his belt. "You know I used to be a beat cop, right? I know something about getting angry cats out of trees."

“Don’t need you chasin’ after me, Rick.  Just go on back to your people,” Daryl growled.

“You’re my people, Daryl.”

"Bullshit," Daryl rasped back, sinking back into the branches. "You and I both know those shitheads got nothin’ to do but sit on their asses like baby birds, just waiting for the meat they ain't catching."

Rick ducked his head and nodded, “I can see how you’d think that. And you’re right. Most of ‘em ain’t out there looking for food or fighting the dead. But they can’t. They need us. They need you.”

"They don' need me," Daryl spat, lip curling. "They made that plenty clear."

Looking up at the branches and leaves above him, Rick shook his head. “What are you talkin’ about, Daryl? Why do you think that?” Looking down he scuffed the toe of his worn boot in the dirt. “Why  _ would _ you think that? They do need you. We all need you.  _ I _ need you.”

Daryl didn't answer, letting the silence stretch as he stayed slunk back against trunk - until he heard Rick sigh. His boots scraped against the bark as he climbed up after him.

Rolling his eyes, Daryl scooted over to make room for their former leader.  He should have known Rick would come after him and shouldn’t be surprised that he was even climbing the damned tree. 

Sure enough, Rick stumbled along the way and of course broke some along the way. It would make  it a bitch to get back down. Rick had to grab onto his ankle and use it to heave himself up, fingers scratching into the bark and peeling it back. "'Bout as good as when I was six," Daryl huffed, holding back a smirk at Rick's pale expression.

It was almost enough to break Daryl’s bad mood, watching Rick cling to the tree and sweating like a pig on slaughter day. But Daryl was still too pissed. He knew he’d never be good enough, he just had hoped that he was at least doing enough to keep them from thinking he was the dirt under their feet. 

"The fuck you doin', Rick?" He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, exasperated despite the warm curls of fondness fluttering through his chest.

Glancing over at the intense look of concentration on the pale, sweaty face of the man perched precariously next to him, Daryl pushed down the warmth that suddenly washed through him.  No! He wasn’t going to do this. He was up here for a reason.

Then those blazing blue eyes locked on his, and the angry storm in his chest quieted just enough to hear the man sitting in front of him. 

“Tell me what happened that set you off. You wouldn’t just walk out on us for no reason. Talk to me, Daryl.”

"And what if I did?" Daryl said bitterly, watching Rick's eyes widen in return. He threw his hand to the side, motioning to the expanse of forest. "No one can track worth shit but me, could just fuck off and not come back. Then what?"

“Then  _ what _ ? Is that even a question?” Rick’s head tilted to the side, “We’d all be dead without you. Me, Carl, Judith, everyone. We need you more than anyone.”

Daryl opened his mouth to retort, but Rick clearly wasn't done.  "Was it one of us?" It's enough to make Daryl snap his jaw shut, narrowed blue eyes flicking to the side. He heard the other man sigh quietly.

"Who was it, Daryl? Please."

Inhaling slowly, Daryl shook his head slowly.  “Nah, man. It don’t matter. Whoever it was didn’t say anythin’ that wasn’t true. Don’t matter who said it.”

“It matters to me,” Rick told him, low and serious and rekindling those warm embers in his chest until Daryl’s whole face flushed with heat. 

“You matter to me,” he continued.  “Can’t you see that?”

Damn, it wasn't fair what this man did to him. Shouldn't even be legal. But it was too perfect, too much, and the moment Daryl would give in- 

“What does it even matter what happened? These people can’t even wipe their own asses, and you’re here trying to tell me how much they need me. I ain’t here to wipe asses, I’m here because…” Daryl paused and chewed his bottom lip, unable to look Rick in the eye any longer, “I’m here at this fucking prison because I can’t live if something happened to you.”

It shouldn't surprise him anymore, how fast Rick could move. Even twenty feet off the ground, perched on a branch that wasn’t entirely sturdy, he moved like a viper; crowding Daryl back against the trunk and leaving him nowhere to go.

Daryl felt a tidal wave of emotion flood through his body and this time he didn’t push it down.  All of a sudden the hurt that brought him here didn’t matter anymore. In a moment of clarity he realized that he was worth something--to this man here, right in front of him.  Closing his eyes, he decided to let whatever was going to happen - happen.

He felt Rick’s lips warm against his, pressing hard and real, pouring every unspoken word into the momentum of it. Daryl shifted forward, chasing the sensation, wanting to feel it in his bones. A sound escaping him on a breath that near masked the sound beneath their feet. 

_ CRACK. _

And they went tumbling down the branches to land in a tangled heap on the ground. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I know, I know, you want more. I want more. Daryl wants more, Rick wants more. (TWDObsessive reallllly wants more (hell, Katy was sad we couldn't add the sex!)). Round robins are fun, you should try it!


End file.
